User blog:KidVegeta/What's In A Name?
Hmmm… I dunno if I really want to post this, but DD has been asking for one of these all night. And I do mean all night. So what the heck, here’s the reasoning behind every chapter title for Dragon Ball Z: The Forgotten. I may or may not add reasonings behind my other stories in the future. And yes, I’ll be answering these in a similar way that the author of Death Note did in vol 13. 'WARNING' I may reveal plot stuff about unreleased sagas below. Bewaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare. Most chapter titles were chosen in the pre-plot era of every saga, in order to give myself a writing structure later. However, as time has passed, and now that I’ve finished the plot details for TF (the plot is fully finished as of the posting of this blog), chapter titles have instead been chosen after the plot for that episode has been worked out. This is fully the case with the reunion and fulfillment sagas. Fascinating stuff, I know. Prince Vegeta Saga Originally, I got a feeling of nostalgia and decided to re-watch all of Dragon Ball Z, including the movies and specials. When I got to the Bardock special, I was so blown away by the utter genius of the characters in it - no more so than by the briefly seen kid Vegeta. The whole idea of the Saiyans being around in Frieza's time, before Goku and all that was very cool to me. It got me thinking into making a story, which I eventually did. And I decided to center it on the timeframe of the Bardock Special, specifically with kid Vegeta in mind. I wanted to know more about him, and how he was such a prodigy on his planet and all that, so my story became a platform to tell that. I was going to show it from his perspective, but that was abandoned (Vegeta's own story after is another soon to be written fic of mine anyway) as soon as I realized I could make my own Saiyan (Vegeta's age, of course) and have them be together in a story. The focus of this saga was always Vegeta. Ledas just adds in a way to tell a bit more backstory about him in a fanon, expansive sense, while also showing pieces of the Bardock special and canon timeline (indeed, this saga has a few instances near the end that are actually word-for-word from the Bardock special). So, with him being my favorite character and the focus of the plot, it only made sense to name the saga after Vegeta. 1 Prologue No real explanation needed here. If I remember correctly, this was one of the last chapter titles I came up with, because it was this chapter didn’t even exist in my first draft of The Forgotten. I chose a simple title only because I didn’t want to start out with any confusion. 2 Lest I Forget This was an interesting title, and truth be told I have no idea where the inspiration came for it. As for it’s meaning, it’s written from Layeeck’s point of view, kind of playing off that fact that up until this point he had been putting off training his son. 3 Just Saibamen? A reference to Prince Vegeta’s personality, something I wanted to bring to the forefront in his introductory chapter. I also wanted to reference Saibamen somewhere in this story. 4 Explosions, Vegeta… Lots Of ‘Em! I have no memory of naming this chapter. Sorry! 5 A Little Paranoia Never Hurt Anyone A personal play on the phrase “A little _ never hurt anyone.” Due to Layeeck’s increasing paranoia at his son’s growing power, I felt that was a fine word to use here; and it also gives off a sort of subtle irony that I really like. 6 Always Remember Your First Another phrase reference. This one is kinda more adult in origins as it has to do with either the first time a person has sex or a first love or sommat like that. But in Saiyan culture, the most important thing is fighting; and I think a boy’s first fight (with his father) is as, if not more memorable than the “human” ones mentioned above. 7 Lord Frieza While technically Frieza was introduced at the very end of the last chapter, this is his true introduction. Being the overlord of basically the entire galaxy, his entrance didn’t need much more than a “Lord Frieza”. 8 Wittles And A File Very simple one here; a reference to Charles Dickens' book "Great Expectations". Wittles and a file were what pip had to originally get for that dreaded convict. Chosen because of the Ledas/Lascon and Ledas/Benefactor interactions of the chapter. 9 The Boy Doesn’t Mean Any Harm Another Frieza quote said to Prince Vegeta in that special, but this time it was not meant as a simple same-character reference. At about this time, if I remember correctly, Zarbon was growing wary of The Benefactor, while Frieza remained staunchly supportive of him. This is a reference to their talks about him. 10 Because It’s My Birthday Oh, this was a fun one. An obvious reference to Lord of the Rings: Return of the King in that it’s a Gollum quote. This one however is kind of more subtle than the others in that it being posted itself is a reference to the other part of the Gollum quote (“And I wants it”). The and I wants it part is a reference to Frieza taking a personal interest in Prince Vegeta, and thus causing the Saiyan uprising. And no, I never wrote this with the intent that that day was actually Frieza’s birthday. 11 No More Monkeys Pretty simple here. I thought this would be a good final Frieza quote for TF, as he is never actually killed or really given a proper goodbye within the story. The other part of this is that this is the chapter in which Frieza exterminates the Saiyans (monkeys) and it’s always good to be able to describe the actual story like that. 12 Serenity In Atonement Hmm… this one is somewhat complex. At one time I was gonna write several Halo fanons, to which I am no longer doing. This chapter is a reference to that. In one of my stories I had a covie ship named “Serenity and Atonement”. I really liked that name, so changed it a bit to fit into this story. It is also a reference to Layeeck’s final act, of finally being able to “redeem” himself a little after not fighting in the last chapter. Lauto Saga Writing for kid Saiyans is fun. Writing for adult Saiyans is not. Not at all. Kid Saiyans have a much broader emotional and creative boundaries, and having Ledas become and adult would just limit that too much to turn it into painful monotony. Lauto was brought in for the purpose of keeping him as a child. As the saga stands now, it ends with Lauto, giving him more meaning for the saga. Once again, this saga is named after a person because the person, Lauto, is so monumentally important that I couldn't have named this something else and risk Lauto's importance to be forgotten or minimalized. 13 Lyin’ And Laughin’ I watch a lot of Seinfeld, usually the whole series every year or so. This is a reference to the last episode where Jackie Chiles says “Lyin’ and laughin’… laughin’ and lyin’.” I loved that line, so it’s in here. It also is a good describer of Ledas (in Banas’ mind) lying about his crash and the plantains laughing about it. 14 To Cooler With Love This was probably one of the easiest chapter titles for me to come up with, as it’s a subtle riff against Guva’s “schoolgirl” like attitude when around Cooler. The phrase itself (sans the name) is commonplace, too. 15 Wind Swept A reference to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The planet visited in this chapter is much like Dantooine and is also very windy. 16 Two One Eyed Dogs Reference to the lovely Modest Mouse Song "Polar Opposites", which in itself describes the relationship of Guva and Banas in this chapter. The line used for the title was less cliched so I picked that. 17 Big Mistake Obviously a pun on Ledas turning into a Great Ape in this episode. Could also be interpreted as a mistake on Banas’ part not to kill Ledas here. 18 New Tricks Lieme teaches Ledas how to sense Ki. Or at least that’s what happens. Dunno if Lieme really meant to do that. But his mistake ultimately would be a great benefit for Ledas in the future. 19 You're So Lucky Reference to the absolutely amazing song by Rivers Cuomo, "Wanda, You're My Only Love". It's a sarcastic look, from Payar's point of view about Ledas being able to use ki, even if he is weaker, as Payar ended up looking foolish in this episode because of his ki deficiency. 20 A Mess Of Politics Something I heard a news anchor say one time on TV. I thought it was very funny, and seeing as Banas does make some tricky political moves in this chapter (killing another allied captain), I thought it’d fit. 21 Mysterious Presence This chapter is all about Lauto. Someone nobody seems to know anything about. This chapter title was chosen so it could be vague enough as to not give away too much before released. I do think some things are more exciting when you don’t know everything about them. 22 Greatest Expectations Basically, Lauto grants Ledas a boost in power, so suddenly that it freezes his age and makes him a kid forever. Obviously a reference to the book "Great Expectations", as the two books both have someone come into great expectations not expecting it. Stomping Grounds Saga This saga was basically a retooling of half of the previous saga to make that saga shorter, and thus easier to read. The idea of the stomping grounds, I admit, came solely from a Magic card of the same name, and honestly, I don't know if this saga could have been named anything else. Maybe the "Cooler Saga" or "Legend Saga" but neither fully captures the plot well enough. 23 The Stomping Grounds I needed to make certain people realized where Ledas went. It's a planet owned by Cooler that Cooler uses to train and test potential elite soldiers in his military. Ledas really couldn't have picked a worse spot to crash land. I didn't see a need to complicate this one at all. 24 Haunting Memory The chapter in particular brings back the themes of the last saga with Benefactor and Ledas, as well as the themes with Lauto, showing his Semi-Super Saiyan state again. 25 I'm So Devious Two parter on this one. One, Grif was devious in putting Ledas into a coma, but not actually killing him. Two, Ledas is devious for killing all of Konatsu's troops without being detected. 26 Agoraphobia Ledas doesn't actually have a fear of being in crowds or open places. But it may appear like that since he basically killed every being on the planet, aside from Nepar, Sarpack, and Sika in this chapter. It's like he's antisocial or something. 27 Echo Tango Okay, I really like this reference. It's to the NATO phonetic alphabet. Echo means "E". Tango means "T". Simple, right? Put them together, and you get ET. An Extraterrestrial, also known as Nepar. 28 Final Run You see now, Ledas is almost out. He has only the top guy to beat to get off the planet. This final push reminded me of the Halo 1 chapter of the same name, though these two are not paralleled more than that. While Ledas could run away at this time, Cooler has arrived, so it would most likely be his final run. His last attempt at getting away, fruitless or not. 29 That Makes Him The Guv’nor Bioshock reference, particularily this quote. Made it easy to do, since Guva was the governor and even if Banas hated him, he would still listen (if begrudgingly). Guva finally gets to show how he has some use, even if it is a selfish endeavor. Standing up to Cooler was bold, though, and no one would have gotten away with it aside from a Military Governor like Guva. 30 Finding Aprido A reference to the awesome Disney movie “Finding Nemo”. Aprido’s name was similar enough that I thought it would be interesting (given the actual plot of the episode) to do that. Since Aprido goes missing, and Ledas has to go find him... it's just a perfect fit. I couldn't have planned this one if I tried. 31 Ascendancy Ledas takes his place as the “chosen one”. But in all seriousness, this was a simple explanation of his reaching Super Saiyan. And really, we all knew this was coming sooner or later. 32 To Each, According To His Sins A reference to Karl Marx, or communism in general. There’s not much more to it than that. But please don’t take the reference as a pro or anti communist reference; it was meant as neither. Planet Earth Saga Simple name. Ledas gets to Earth. With this saga, unlike the others, I did not feel it was vastly important to give this saga a name after a character or specific instance, as Earth itself was important and broad enough to encompass the entirety of the complex plot within it. 33 Exodus A play on several exoduses. I’m not sure which one is most prominent. This was also a slight goodbye chapter to Guva’s beloved, wooded desk which Banas so callously destroyed near the end of it. 34 The Orphan The story behind this one is rather… recent. Anyways, I didn’t have the name for this one for the longest time; until one day I had a chance happening upon the movie “A Christmas Story”. It wasn’t even Christmas, so I dunno how I got around to watching it. Anywho, on the actual Christmas eve of last year, among my plot developments for Death Note: Our Truths, I also worked heavily on this chapter. And wouldn’t you know which movie was playing during that day. As to how this relates to the actual name, well in the movie the main character had a little thing for a girl called Little Orphan Annie. As soon as I heard those words I knew I was golden. 35 Hazing In the text of this chapter, I have a reference to sonic the hedgehog; the title therefore became one. Though perhaps “Hazy” would have been less indirect. 36 Capsule Corp. No real meaning behind this one. Ryori has a capsule… Ledas goes to Capsule Corp. 37 My Friend Vegeta There’s tons of My Friend ___s out there, but this one is mostly based on an awesome TSFH song My Little Friend Max, which I played a lot while writing/working on the plot for this chapter. This is one of my favorite chapter names. 38 Mist For such a complex chapter, I didn’t really give a deep meaning behind the name. If anything, it’s kind of talking about how the whole atmosphere was misty that day and how Cardinal’s motives seemed to be quite shrouded. 39 The Monster Inside Me A reference to the anime/manga Monster, and especially the character Johan within that story. This is done because by this chapter Ledas is starting to slip into his own darkness and it is eerily reminiscent of the former’s personality. 40 Like An Apple This chapter is highly based of Death Note elements, wherein a Benefactor “shadow” follows Ledas around. I thought that it was like a shinigami, so I made this a reference to Death Note. 41 Blutz Wave While admittedly, I’ve never watch GT in it’s entirety, I am still somewhat familiar with the concept of the Blutz Wave Generator. In previous drafts, this episode was called “Ballet, It Tames The Spirit” and later “Furry And Brown”. The former was not a reference to anything, but the latter was a reference to Mr. Rogers. 42 Korin Tower Would you believe I actually put a reference to Dragon Ball… in a Dragon Ball story? Say it ain’t so! (oh it be so) 43 Chasing Ghosts Referenced to Dexter here. Seeing as this chapter is exclusively (apart from a very brief bit at the very end) a Banas and Guva chapter, and seeing how it’s taking place in Lauto’s cave, and seeing how The Benefactor is there too… well it just fit so well. Oh, and spoilers. 44 Thine Actions Vindicated I have been asked several times (mostly by DD) as to who’s actions are vindicated in this chapter. Some would say Ledas, others Cardinal. But when I wrote down the name (for I just made it up, off the top of my head) I had in my mind the vindicated actions of only one man; Shoekki. Because after all, he was just a nice guy. Reunion Saga Well, this one's rather obvious. Reunions are ripe in this saga. The first one is Guva reuniting with Ledas, his last (and wayward) soldier. The second being, of course, Ledas and Vegeta's formal reunion (as the one in the previous saga doesn't count). The third was The Benefactor's return to Ledas. I should note all these reunions were onesided - as in only one party wanted the reunion. But this saga was mostly about those reunions, and little else. It was a very transitory saga on the whole. 45 De Facto It is not explained yet, but I hint at it many times in this chapter that Guva is being driven to do something and is not in command. The de faco leader is no longer him, but it is the Benefactor. And for the outpost, it seems like nature has reclaimed ownership over that. 46 The Cruelest Of Atrocities Originally I had many, many references to Europa (globus). I believe this is the only such reference remaining. This is also playing off the fact that Kindler (apparently) kills Ledas in this chapter in quite a horrid way. 47 Blink Ledas POV kind of chapter. It was up to Dewberry to not blink, and he did blink. Thus, he was killed. 48 They Call Me Yamcha Well, I do like Bently Jones' version a whole lot.... just imagine it playing as Yamcha gets brutalized by Guva. This chapter title makes me laugh every time I read it, still. 49 The Ones That Really Matter There are many, many moments in Lord Of The Rings that are just completely and utterly stunning. One of the best of even those is Sam's Speech. This chapter title is reference to what he says in that chapter, though it is incredibly sarcastic. I state that Yamcha and Chiaotzu are the ones that really matter. Yeah, right. 50 Paid In Blood A reference to the TF special “Paved In Blood”. Several people have already caught that and told me about it, with much bated breath. What could it mean? 51 Snow Day For the Ledas/Vegeta flashback, I had a lot of leeway that I didn’t have in Prince Vegeta Saga to really do whatever I wanted. I realized that in PVS, there wasn't all that much shown of their life, outside of fighting. So I drew up a quick plot and ended up on Snow Day. Yeah, it snows and Vegeta/Ledas play. They'll be playing and having fun. Well mostly. 52 Furcifer Pardalis This is a very specific reference to a species of chameleon, the one which I thought most resembled The Benefactor in terms of appearance and abilities. This chapter was solely about The Benefactor, so that is why I chose it. 53 Machination Master For no title would suit him (cept this one). 54 Visionary Tien fights in this episode. I make fun of his three eyes. The chapter title makes fun of him too. 55 Make Me (season finale part 1) Ledas being defiant to The Benefactor. He even gets Vegeta to help him, along with a couple cool songs to improve the moment. I always imagined a scene in this chapter with Ledas in Super Saiyan, in a close up of his face, his green eyes taking up most of the scene. And he just says "Make me" to The Benefactor telling him to come with him. 56 At The River's Gorge (season finale part 2) In Outbreak, the opening is at a river's gorge. That is where The Benefactor first witnessed death. In this saga, a lot of the story takes part on that river's gorge, so it made sense to reference that. Fulfillment Saga The Benefactor gets his wish to have a friend. He's been waiting all these years, and after some fights and all that good stuff, he has it. This is primarily about his fulfillment, but it could also be seen as Ledas' fulfillment into a proud Saiyan warrior, as he was the only one who defeated The Benefactor. Everything comes to a close, it is all fulfilled, and the story is finished. 57 The Door To Nowhere This chapter title's meaning came from the ending of the last saga. Ledas found that Red Ribbon Army door and opened it, only to find that it didn't go much of anywhere. Though he eventually found the Red Ribbon Army, they turned out to not be as important to Ledas' story as they did to several other characters'. 58 Raven Veins One of my favorite chapter title names, which actually has no meaning. Fun stuff. 59 Iodiner Well, The Benefactor reveals that when he grew up, he lived on an iodine deposit. The Red Ribbon army base had a high concentration of iodine and that was the reason he put Ledas down there to begin with. 60 A Phone Call From Prince To Sour Concerning The Serious Lack Of Toys To Play With In Sour's House This is a loose reference to the most hilarious song title ever made, which is owned by Modest Mouse, and was featured as their first song on their first demo album. The way I worded this one is from Vegeta's perspective, being someone peeved that he only got to fight one soldier. Silver, being Sour, didn't have much to offer Vegeta in terms of resistance after Ledas tore up the base. See here. 61 Light Goes Off Light meaning an idea, or the idea of Ledas and Vegeta beating The Benefactor. This goes well for a little while, but as the chapter ends, this light goes out and The Benefactor outlasts them. 62 Be My Example I believe this is the only chapter title written from Ryori's point of view. This is like an angry cry from Ryori to Cardinal, about the latter's lack of morality, yet his constant begging for mercy. If Cardinal had been like he wants Ryori to be in this moment, he wouldn't have taken the boy (abducting him twice). So this chapter title is somewhat sarcastic in that manner. 63 The Product Of A Stable Mind So this is a Dexter reference. I believe it is season 5. I was actually writing this chapter in its original form when Dexter was on, and Harry said that. Quite a good phrase, and it aptly describes a sarcastic view of The Benefactor's fascination with Ledas and how he took the boy to the tree to throw leaves. 64 Desperation Inspired by Gears of War II and the last few acts. The atmosphere of those acts, what with the sun setting and there being blood, smoke, bodies, and rubble everywhere is how I imagined the city and the earth to be right in this chapter. 65 Riddle Me This The main bit of this chapter is that there’s a new character, Verlate (who is a Rakatan). In the game KoToR, a Rakatan is trapped in a box much like Verlate. The chapter’s name in the game? Riddle Me This, Rakatan. So naturally I had to use it. 66 Council Of Gods This chapter's focus was about The Benefactor's conversation with Ledas near the end of it. In it, he tells Ledas that they could be gods in the mind prison, rulers over their thoughts completely. Of course, Ledas rejects this, but the importance was on their conversation, their council if you will. Also note this is chapter 66. 67 Sticky Fingers There are a few substances of which are maddeningly sticky. One of which is lube. Another of which is, well, something naughtier. Much of this chapter is redacted, and the title comes (no pun intended!) directly from the removed scene. 68-69 Simply Legendary Simply Legendary was not based on anything or a reference to anything. I really did not want to make a reference to anything in the finale. I wanted to create something purely on my own, and that is just what I did. 8 Outbreak: Paved In Blood Most of the sagas and chapters were come up with spur of the moment. I had an idea for what that part would be and the name for it came to me pretty readily. That was not the case with this. I wanted a name to capture the idea of the Benefactor being unstable and violent, but there was nothing I knew of to reference it to. I had a host of names for it, but I eventually decided that I wanted to go the rout of his being "exploding" out of his planet. Outbreak has the connotation of being related to an infestation or parasite, but that is incidental at best. This is also the only title which has a subtitle of its own. Outbreak itself would not be a suitable title, so it needed more. With all the gore and blood and mayhem within the story, being paved in blood, effectively having his outbreak be reached because of his viciousness seemed right to me. 1. Imaginary Place Based off of Gears of War 1 chapter title of the same name. I chose it for two reasons. For one, it sounds really cool. For another, The Benefactor in this chapter acts as if he is in a fantasy world, doing what he wants, killing whoever he wants, etc. So it's like he is in an imaginary place. 2. If It Bleeds... The Benefactor creates several bloody scenes in this chapter. The most is when he forces Loriphim to butcher his daughter with a knife. The reference is specifically from the movie Predator, which purported that if it bled, it would indeed die. The Benefactor saw this to be very true in this chapter. 3. Apocryphal Subtle jab at The Benefactor not recognizing Frieza as his overlord, despite saying he did. The word also looks sinister, which fits this story well. 9 Forever Alone Sometimes, like with Spindlerun, I have a name that is merely a working title for the saved document. For Verlate's tale, I had forever alone, which is somewhat based on the of that forever alone guy meme. Suffice to say, as I continued writing it and as I continued searching for a name, none proved better than its working title. It makes sense, really, because Verlate was trapped in the mind prison for all eternity, by herself. 1. Flux Order Just an explanation of the order going from Verlate to the Kais and dispersing itself into chaos. 2. Abusus Non Tollit Usum Latin for "abuse does not take away use". Basically it was Sertung's argument against Verlate that just because of this one instance, they needn't give up their mantle to the Kais. 3. Rock And Pool Is So Nice And Cool A quote by Gollum. It was a song/riddle that he sang once about catching a fish (rock and pool is so nice and cool upon my feet, so juicy sweeeet!/ I only wish to catch a fish, so juicy sweeeeet!). Needless to say, it was chosen because Verlate learned about riddles in this chapter, and they became very important later on. Well, that’s it. All the chapters for TF. Now let's all give KidVegeta a nice tip o' the hat for being gracious enough to do this. I'm sure he neither wanted to, nor found it particularly easy to do so. And it must have taken so much time away from his busy social life! Jokes aside, thanks to any who have read the whole thing. Comment in the area below if you have anything to say. Thanks! -KidVegeta Category:Blog posts Category:KidVegeta